Iran - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Iran cover image

Iran

May 12, 2026

Tehran 1:57 am

22°C

A picture taken on March 12, 2017, shows an Panamanian tanker docking at the platform of the oil facility in the Khark Island, on the shore of the Gulf.

Breaking | Last Updated: May 11, 2026, 4:31 pm

US hits China-linked Iran oil trade with sanctions ahead of Trump trip

The sanctions come after the United States rejected Iran's latest proposal to end the war.

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MAY 2: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to journalists before boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport on May 2, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump is spending the weekend at his Mar-A-Lago resort. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)

Trump calls Iran response 'piece of garbage,' set to meet military advisers

A US Navy nuclear submarine reached port in Gibraltar on Sunday in an unsubtle signal from the Pentagon.

Ronen Zvulun / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu fears being left out as Trump pursues Iran diplomacy

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was not surprised by President Donald Trump’s suspension of Project Freedom and move toward talks with Iran, but analysts say Washington may not be fully weighing Israel's concerns in negotiations with Tehran.

Latest News

China’s overland trade routes offer Iran wartime economic lifeline: What to know

CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Why Iran's wartime behavior risks lasting rupture with Gulf states

A woman walks past a banner featuring Iran's late supreme leaders, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C), next to newly elected Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in Tehran on April 19, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

Traffic passes a billboard depicting Iranian ballistic missiles in service, with text in Arabic reading "the honest [person's] promise" and in Persian "Israel is weaker than a spider's web," Valiasr Square, Tehran, April 15, 2024. ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

US strikes Iran tankers as UAE reports fresh missile, drone attacks

Getty

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Benjamin Houghton

In Durham, reporting on China in the Middle East

Rahim Rahimov

In Baku, reporting on Middle East-Caucasus ties

Mehrnaz Samimi

In Washington, DC, reporting on Iranian culture

Is Saudi crown prince winning or losing in the Middle East?

With Saad Hariri staying on as prime minister in Lebanon, the Saudi crown prince has suffered another setback in his efforts to counter Iran.

A money changer counts out U.S. dollars for a customer in Tehran's business district, Iran, January 20, 2016. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - GF20000100973

Imprudent foreign financing could jeopardize Iran’s economy

Contrary to common wisdom, not all foreign financing, especially the type currently trickling into Iran, is good for state finances and the country’s economy.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, Russia's Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan meet in Sochi, Russia November 22, 2017. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1A068CD8A0

Iranian media: Sochi summit step toward 'new Middle East'

Iranian media reported on the trilateral meeting between the presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey in Sochi as a step toward a new Middle East.

Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson attends the 2017 Chatham House London Conference at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London, Britain. October 23, 2017. REUTERS/Mary Turner - RC14EB158860

Why UK-US divide on Iranian nuclear deal matters

Rather than France or Germany, it is Britain that could prove essential in determining the fate of the nuclear deal with Iran.

Israeli forces are seen near a border fence between the Israeli-occupied side of the Golan Heights and Syria, November 4, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC19166D7D10

IDF prepares for 'new' Syria

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman is asking for an increased budget for the Israel Defense Forces to prepare itself against new threats developing along its northern border with Syria.

Helga Maria Schmid (L), Secretary-General European External Action Service, Delegated Joint Commission Coordinator (EU), David Geer (2ndL), Head of the Sanctions Policy Division (EU), Seyed Abbas Araghchi (2ndR), Iran's Vice-Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Majid Takht-Ravanchi (R), Iran's Under-Secretary for European and American Affairs and senior diplomats from other six major powers meet in Vienna, on April 25, 2017 for a regular quarterly meeting to review adherence to their 2015 nuclear d

Iran, EU hold third round of high-level talks

The third round of comprehensive discussions between Iran and a high delegation of European Union representatives will take place in Iran.

A display featuring missiles and a portrait of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seen at Baharestan Square in Tehran, Iran September 27, 2017. Picture taken September 27, 2017. Nazanin Tabatabaee Yazdi/TIMA via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC11BFED01E0

The wrong way to address Iran’s missile program

To address Iran’s ballistic missile program, the United States and Europe need to work toward a region-wide solution.

Khamenei adviser apologizes for cursing Rouhani VP

A shadowy adviser to Iran’s supreme leader entered the spotlight after a video of him attacking the first vice president went viral.

Saad al-Hariri, who announced his resignation as Lebanon's Prime Minister while on a visit to Saudi Arabia, is pictured at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, November 18, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier - RC12B497C730

Saudi Arabia seeks to turn back clock on Iran

The debacle surrounding the resignation of Lebanon’s prime minister amid growing Saudi hostility toward Iran suggests a coming showdown in the region.

Foreign ministers, Sergei Lavrov (front) of Russia, Mevlut Cavusoglu (2nd R) of Turkey, Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) of Iran, and members of the delegations attend a meeting in Moscow, Russia, December 20, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - LR1ECCK0W9ZRG

Turkey, Iran, Russia: Trilateral distrust in Syria

Iran and Turkey are concerned that Russia might exploit them at some point to achieve its own goals in Syria.

Posters depicting Saad al-Hariri, who announced his resignation as Lebanon's prime minister from Saudi Arabia, is seen at airport high way in Beirut, Lebanon November 19, 2017. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi - RC119900A480

Can Lebanon handle truth about Hariri, Saudi Arabia?

Saad Hariri faces his own court of conscience; US-Iran relations revert to axis of evil days.

Iranian surgeon Ali Manafi puts on his sterile gown before performing a nose surgery on a female patient in the operating room at a hospital in Tehran August 19, 2015. Iran has the most numbers of rhinoplasty procedures, or nose jobs, done in the world, according to local media.REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMAATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FO

Iran emerges as health tourism destination

An increasing number of foreign visitors enter Iran to either undergo medical treatment at specialized hospitals or to make use of traditional medicine.